Cover of the PCA&D admissions guide, How to Make an Awesome Portfolio Art Schools Will Crave.

PCA&D Admissions Guide: Copywriting & Content Structure Case Study

A print admissions guide for prospective art students, written to help demystify the portfolio submission process. I contributed to and tightened the prose throughout, and applied SEO-informed content structuring — normally reserved for on-page web content — to a print piece, so the guide's headings, hierarchy, and section logic could also translate cleanly if repurposed as web or blog content.

  • Category: Copywriting, Content Editing, SEO-Informed Structure (Print)
  • Client: Pennsylvania College of Art & Design
  • Role: Copywriter, Content Editor
  • Skills Used: Prose editing and tightening, keyword-informed heading and section structure, audience-focused messaging, print/web content parity.
  • Result: A clearer, more scannable admissions guide for a high school audience, structured so its headings and hierarchy could double as SEO-friendly web content if repurposed.

Context

Admissions guides like this one are handed to prospective art students who are often unsure how to even begin assembling a portfolio. The goal was to make the guide feel approachable and easy to scan while still covering everything an admissions office needs to see — a needle print pieces have to thread just as much as web pages do.

Beyond tightening the prose itself, I applied web SEO thinking — clear, keyword-forward headings, scannable numbered sections, and a logical content hierarchy — to the print layout, so the guide's structure would hold up if it were ever adapted into blog or landing page content down the line.


The Approach


PCA&D admissions guide page: '7 Must-Knows for the Admission Portfolio,' listing tips on artwork range, current work, and quality over quantity.

The "7 Must-Knows for the Admission Portfolio" section, structured with numbered, scannable subheadings.

PCA&D admissions guide page: presentation tips covering portfolio focus, 3D composition, and avoiding recreations of others' art.

Presentation Tips section.

PCA&D admissions guide page: tips for submitting a portfolio digitally, including care of originals, matting, and photo backgrounds.

Tips for Submitting Your Portfolio Digitally.

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